The conservative movement in the United States was pinned by George W. Bush.  First and foremost, the conservative movement is based upon the ideal of individual freedom from the concentrated power of the government.  George W. Bush betrayed the conservative movement by double legging the conservatives that penned the Contract with America by teaming up with Teddy Kennedy on No Child Left Behind.  This slick move was supposed to expand and built a permanent Republican Majority by showing that conservatives were "compassionate".   He followed up his double leg by refusing to veto any spending measure.  Then he shot in again and stunned the conservative movement by signing the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill.  This is when I unenrolled from the Republican PArty and became and Independent.  George W. Bush had moved the respectable party of balanced budgets to a whore funding the Bridge to Nowhere.  Finally, he ended up pinning of the conservative movement through his massive overreach with the Bailout of...well you name it.  GWB transformed the Republican brand into a party more abusive than the Democratic party on the vital issues of government growth.  If the conservative movement is to gain strength, it must aggressively oppose the new deomocratic majorities on their inevitable tax and spend mandate.